The Three Daughters of King O'Hara
Encyclopedia
The Three Daughters of King O'Hara is an Irish fairy tale
collected by Jeremiah Curtin
in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland.
ed for the handsomest man in the world. He arrived in a golden coach with four horses to take her away. Her second sister wished for the next best man, and he arrived in a golden coach with four horses to take her away. Then the youngest wished for the best white dog, and it arrived in a golden coach with four horses to take her away. The king returned and was enraged when his servants told him of the dog.
The oldest two were asked by their husbands how they wanted them during the day: as they are during the day, or as they are at night. Both want them as they are during the day. Their husbands both are men during the day but seals at night. The youngest was also asked and answered the same, so her husband was a dog by day and a handsome man by night.
She gave birth to a son. Her husband went hunting and warned her not to weep if anything happened to the child. A gray crow took the baby when he was a week old, and she did not weep. It happened again, with a second son, but with their third
child, a daughter, she dropped one tear, which she caught in a handkerchief. Her husband was very angry.
Soon after, the king invited his three daughters and their husbands to his home. Late at night, the queen went to look in their bedrooms, and saw that her two oldest had seals in their beds, but her youngest had a man. She found and burned the dog's skin. The husband jumped up, angry, and said that if he had been able to stay three nights under her father's roof he could have been a man both day and night, but now he had to leave her.
He set out, but she chased after him, never letting him out of sight. They came to a house, and he sent her to spend the night inside. A little boy there called her mother, and a woman there gave her a scissors that would turn rags into cloth of gold. The next day, she chased after her husband again, and they came to another house, where another little boy called her mother, and a woman gave her a comb that would turn a diseased head healthy, and give it gold hair. The third day, she still chased after her husband, and the third house held a one-eyed little girl. The woman realized what weeping had done. She took her handkerchief where she had caught her tear, and put the eye back. The woman gave her a whistle that would summon all the birds of the world.
They went on, but he explained that the Queen of Tír na nÓg
had cursed him, and now he must go and marry her. She followed him into the lower kingdom and stayed with a washerwoman, helping her. She saw a henwife's daughter, all in rags, and snipped her rags with the scissors, so she wore cloth of gold. Her mother told the queen, who demanded them. The princess asked for a night with her husband in return, and the queen agreed but drugged her husband. The next day, the princess cured another daughter of the henwife with the comb, and the same exchange was made for it.
The princess blew the whistle and consulted the birds. They told her that only her husband could kill the queen, because a holly-tree, before the castle, held a wether, the wether held a duck, the duck held an egg, and the egg held her heart and life, and only her husband could cut the holly tree. Then she blew the whistle again, attracting a hawk and a fox and caught them. She traded the whistle for a third night, but left a letter with his servants, telling him all.
Her husband read the letter and met her by the tree. He cut it down. The wether escaped, but the fox caught it; the duck escaped, but the falcon caught it, and the egg was crushed, killing the queen.
The princess and her husband live happily in Tír na nÓg.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by Jeremiah Curtin
Jeremiah Curtin
Jeremiah Curtin was an American translator and folklorist.-Life:Born in Detroit, Michigan, Curtin spent his early life in Milwaukee County and later graduated from Harvard College in 1863. In 1864 he went to Russia, where he worked as both a translator and for the U.S. legation...
in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland.
Synopsis
A king had three daughters. One day, when he was away, his oldest daughter wished to marry. She got his cloak of darkness, and wishWish
A wish is a hope or desire for something. Fictionally, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used.-In literature:...
ed for the handsomest man in the world. He arrived in a golden coach with four horses to take her away. Her second sister wished for the next best man, and he arrived in a golden coach with four horses to take her away. Then the youngest wished for the best white dog, and it arrived in a golden coach with four horses to take her away. The king returned and was enraged when his servants told him of the dog.
The oldest two were asked by their husbands how they wanted them during the day: as they are during the day, or as they are at night. Both want them as they are during the day. Their husbands both are men during the day but seals at night. The youngest was also asked and answered the same, so her husband was a dog by day and a handsome man by night.
She gave birth to a son. Her husband went hunting and warned her not to weep if anything happened to the child. A gray crow took the baby when he was a week old, and she did not weep. It happened again, with a second son, but with their third
Rule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
child, a daughter, she dropped one tear, which she caught in a handkerchief. Her husband was very angry.
Soon after, the king invited his three daughters and their husbands to his home. Late at night, the queen went to look in their bedrooms, and saw that her two oldest had seals in their beds, but her youngest had a man. She found and burned the dog's skin. The husband jumped up, angry, and said that if he had been able to stay three nights under her father's roof he could have been a man both day and night, but now he had to leave her.
He set out, but she chased after him, never letting him out of sight. They came to a house, and he sent her to spend the night inside. A little boy there called her mother, and a woman there gave her a scissors that would turn rags into cloth of gold. The next day, she chased after her husband again, and they came to another house, where another little boy called her mother, and a woman gave her a comb that would turn a diseased head healthy, and give it gold hair. The third day, she still chased after her husband, and the third house held a one-eyed little girl. The woman realized what weeping had done. She took her handkerchief where she had caught her tear, and put the eye back. The woman gave her a whistle that would summon all the birds of the world.
They went on, but he explained that the Queen of Tír na nÓg
Tír na nÓg
Tír na nÓg is the most popular of the Otherworlds in Irish mythology. It is perhaps best known from the story of Oisín, one of the few mortals who lived there, who was said to have been brought there by Niamh of the Golden Hair. It was where the Tuatha Dé Danann settled when they left Ireland's...
had cursed him, and now he must go and marry her. She followed him into the lower kingdom and stayed with a washerwoman, helping her. She saw a henwife's daughter, all in rags, and snipped her rags with the scissors, so she wore cloth of gold. Her mother told the queen, who demanded them. The princess asked for a night with her husband in return, and the queen agreed but drugged her husband. The next day, the princess cured another daughter of the henwife with the comb, and the same exchange was made for it.
The princess blew the whistle and consulted the birds. They told her that only her husband could kill the queen, because a holly-tree, before the castle, held a wether, the wether held a duck, the duck held an egg, and the egg held her heart and life, and only her husband could cut the holly tree. Then she blew the whistle again, attracting a hawk and a fox and caught them. She traded the whistle for a third night, but left a letter with his servants, telling him all.
Her husband read the letter and met her by the tree. He cut it down. The wether escaped, but the fox caught it; the duck escaped, but the falcon caught it, and the egg was crushed, killing the queen.
The princess and her husband live happily in Tír na nÓg.
See also
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- The Tale of the HoodieThe Tale of the HoodieThe Tale of the Hoodie is a Scottish fairy tale, collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands. Andrew Lang included it, as The Hoodie-Crow, in The Lilac Fairy Book....
- East of the Sun and West of the MoonEast of the Sun and West of the MoonEast of the Sun and West of the Moon is a Norwegian folk tale.East of the Sun and West of the Moon was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe...
- The Enchanted PigThe Enchanted PigThe Enchanted Pig is a Romanian fairy tale, collected in Rumanische Märchen and also by Petre Ispirescu in Legende sau basmele românilor. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 425A, the search for the lost husband...
- The Daughter of the SkiesThe Daughter of the SkiesThe Daughter of the Skies is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as James MacLauchlan, a servant from Islay.It is Aarne-Thompson type 425A...
- The Sea-MaidenThe Sea-MaidenThe Sea-Maiden is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John Mackenzie, fisherman, near Inverary. Joseph Jacobs included it in Celtic Fairy Tales.-Synopsis:...
- The Dragon and the PrinceThe Dragon and the PrinceThe Dragon and the Prince or The Prince and the Dragon is a Serbian fairy tale collected by A. H. Wratislaw in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, tale number 43...
- The Giant Who Had No Heart in His BodyThe Giant Who Had No Heart in His BodyThe Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.George MacDonald retold it as "The Giant's Heart" in Adela Cathcart...
- What came of picking FlowersWhat came of picking FlowersWhat came of picking Flowers is a Portuguese fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A woman had three daughters. One day, one picked a pink rose and vanished. The next day, the second, searching for her sister, picked a rose and vanished. The third day, the third...
- The Young King Of Easaidh RuadhThe Young King Of Easaidh RuadhThe Young King Of Easaidh Ruadh is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as James Wilson, a blind fiddler, in Islay...